Foo Fighters |
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Mon. October 06.1997 7:46 PM EDT |
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Smearless Foo Fighters Show True ColourDave Grohl and company prove Pat Smear does not make or break great rock bands. by Addicted To Noise correspondent Dakota Smith |
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New guitarist and drummer hold their own, while Grohl takes opportunity to get back behind his kit. Photo by Jay Blakesberg. |
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NEW YORK -- If he had his way, Dave Grohl would probably not talk at all on stage. He just isn't one to chat it up with a crowd. Still, there are some recent Foo Fighters developments even he couldn't get around. Not entirely at least.
Whether he was referring specifically to the recent replacement of grunge icon/guitarist Pat Smear (who'd come over with Grohl from Nirvana, and who was, so long ago, a member of the Germs) with Franz Stahl (who once played with Grohl in the D. C. punk band Scream), the replacement of former drummer William Goldsmith with Taylor Hawkins (who previously played with Alanis Morissette), Grohl's newly designed goatee, or all three, was not clear. What was clear is that this was one of the first post-Smear shows for the Foo Fighters and no one in the audience seemed to care too much that the former Foo was gone. Rather, most seemed thrilled at the chance to see Grohl performing some of his latest tunes, with or without Smear. After all, this is his band. These are his songs. This is his gig. There is a dorky charm about watching Grohl on-stage and that night, dressed in a blue long-sleeve T-shirt and blue jeans, he looked -- in true punk style -- as rock 'n' roll ready as a gas station attendant. Still somewhat uncomfortable as a frontman, the ex-Nirvana drummer chose to acknowledge this rather than put on an act. After trying to make small talk with the audience at one point, he just gave up. "You know, I still don't know how to talk to the audience -- pull off rock talk," he said sheepishly. "I feel like a dork." But talking is not what Grohl and the Foo Fighters are about. They are about relentlessly driving melodies and walls of sound. They are about establishing themselves as front-runners in the alternative music scene -- with or without Smear. Performing older songs off the Foo's first album, "For All The Cows," "Weenie Beenie," "Big Me" and "I'll Stick Around," at times screeching and howling the lyrics, Grohl's energy inspired the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd to dance and body-surf the night away. That is, when they weren't singing along to the Foo's latest tunes. Most of the crowd seemed to know most of the words to the hits off The Colour and The Shape, "Everlong" and "Monkey Wrench," as well as the slower ballads "Doll" and "Up In Arms." Most were so caught up in the color and shape of things on stage, that it wouldn't have mattered if Smear came out to announce he had decided to return after all. Certainly, the thrill of watching the aristocratic, flamboyant Smear play off the adolescent goofiness of Dave Grohl was a rock marriage made in heaven. But, in the end, it's Grohl's music that makes us care -- not necessarily his collaboration with Smear. If he did anything Sunday night, it was to prove that. (Although he hardly needs to prove anything at this point; after all, the first Foo Fighters album was the work of just one man, Dave Grohl, who played all the instruments, wrote the songs, produced it and sang.) On this night, helping Grohl rock the house was new guitarist Stahl, who held more than his own, lending his capable guitar chops and enthusiastic vocals. If there was any doubt that Smear's departure (announced to the world prior to the MTV Music Video Awards last month) would weaken the band, there isn't anymore -- not at least from the perspective of the capacity crowd who'd come to see the Foos minus one. Actually, make that two. The band was also introducing its relatively new drummer (who came on board this past March) -- in a decidedly Grohlish way. The show opened with Grohl and Hawkins, each behind a drum kit, bashing out "This Is A Call." Grohl, hanging behind the skins again, was a pure joy to watch. Beyond the physical similarities between the two drummers, there was the added charm of watching Grohl encourage the young and talented beat man with broad smiles and stage antics. To the left of the stage stood Stahl, who had played with Grohl in the '80s, in the hardcore punk outfit Scream. A bit stiff, more content to look down at his guitar strings than face the audience, Stahl's offerings were subtle yet unmistakable. For his part, Grohl didn't look much at Franz, or play near him during the performance, perhaps content to let the new guy establish himself on his own. The band even had a bit of a laugh at the expense of Fleetwood Mac, managing to start and close "Big Me" with riffs from Stevie Nick's song "Rhiannon." Grohl wasn't the only rocker out to prove something that night. Playing before the Foo Fighters, and taking the place of Scott Weiland, was singer Dave Coutts joined by the band formerly known as Stone Temple Pilots, now known as Talk Show. Coutts (who previously sang in Ten Inch Men) and the rest of the band drew curiosity, but not necessarily adoration from the young, sulky-looking, Urban Outfitters-clad crowd. No one seemed particularly taken with either the singer's stage posturing and gesticulating hips, or the band's haze of heavy guitars. "He's kind of sleazy-looking," one 15-year-old boy confided in me, after looking over the bleach-haired singer. "Yeah," his friend agreed. "I mean, they were just OK." It was the Foo Fighters, of course, that the kid had come to see and when the lights came on to unveil not one, but two drum kits on the stage (one obviously meant for Grohl), there was a surge of anticipation and applause that must have left Talk Show wondering what was up. Grohl and the Foos spent the rest of the night answering any questions about their growing popularity with songs including their closer, "New Way Home" (off The Colour And The Shape). By the night's end, the Foo Fighters came back on stage to play an encore performance of the Gary Numan song "Down in the Park," with Grohl's straining, hoarse vocals backed by Taylor's slow drum beats coming hauntingly close to that classic Nirvana edge. Never mind that Grohl has a lot of ghosts around him, his energy and talent transport his constantly evolving band to new and intriguing places. It should be interesting to see where he takes them next and who comes along for the ride. [Mon., Oct. 6, 1997, 5 p.m. PDT] |
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